1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washer for clothes, and more particularly to a detergent dissolving device for such a washer, capable of dissolving a detergent by using a washing water to be used for washing clothes, prior to a normal washing operation of the washer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a general full-automatic washer. As shown in FIG. 1, the washer comprises a body 1 and a washing tub 2 fixedly mounted in the body 1. Beneath the washing tub 2, a motor 3 is fixedly mounted on the lower surface of the washing tub 2. Within the washing tub 2, a washing and dehydrating tub (hereinafter referred to simply as the dehydrating tub) 4 is disposed to rotate so that it performs a dehydration for clothes by virtue of a centrifugal force generated by its rotation. A pulsator 5 is disposed in the dehydrating tub 4, to generate a flow of water while rotating reversibly according to the drive force of the motor 3, thereby performing a washing.
At the upper portion of the body 1, a water supply unit 7 is mounted, which is connected with a tap 6, for supplying water in the washing tub 2. Beneath the washing tub 2, a drain unit 8 is provided at one side of the washing tub 2, so as to drain washing water out of the washing tub 2.
In the full-automatic washer with the above-mentioned construction, when a washing condition is selected after clothes to be washed have been poured in the dehydrating tub 4, warm or cold water is supplied in the dehydrating tub 4, through the water supply unit 7. As the motor 3 is then driven, the pulsator 5 rotates alternatingly in a normal direction and the reverse direction and thus generates a flow of water, so that a washing is performed. After the completion of washing, the washing water is drained out of the washer, according to an operation of the water drain unit 8. Thereafter, supplying of water through the water supply unit 7 is carried out again and rinsing operations are then performed several times. Finally, a dehydration is carried out by rotating the dehydrating tub 4 at a high speed, so that the overall washing operation is completed.
Upon the washing, a detergent in the form of powder is generally poured in the dehydrating tub, together with clothes to be washed, so as to improve the washability. Conventionally, the user pours a proper quantity of detergent directly or by using a separate detergent pouring member.
With the pouring of detergent in a manner as mentioned above, however, it is difficult to dissolve well the detergent powder in the washing water, thereby causing the washability to be degraded. It also results in an increase in detergent quantity used. A spoil may also occur at the clothes, due to the detergent not dissolved, thereby causing the clothes to be damaged.
For solving these problems, there has been conventionally proposed a construction for improving a solubility of detergent. Such a construction is illustrated in FIG. 2. In accordance with the construction, the water supply unit 7 comprises a pair of water supply valves 7a and 7b which are adapted for a warm water and a cold water, respectively. The water supply unit 7 also comprises a water supply pipe 7c disposed downstream of the water supply valves 7a and 7b. Within the water supply pipe 7c, a detergent container 9 containing a detergent C therein is disposed so that a washing water from the water supply pipe 7c dissolves the detergent contained in the detergent container 9 while passing through the detergent container 9, thereby enabling the dissolved detergent to be supplied in the washing tub 2. With this construction, however, a complete solution of the detergent cannot be expected. Lumps of detergents not dissolved may enter the washing tub 2, thereby degrading the washability. They also may result in spoils on the clothes, thereby causing the clothes to get damaged. There is also a problem of an environmental contamination caused by the discharging of the detergent not dissolved.
Conventionally, another detergent dissolving device for a washer has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Sho. 56-106698. As shown in FIG. 3, the device comprises a container 10 mounted at the upper portion of the washing tub 2 and adapted to contain a quantity of liquid sufficient to dissolve a quantity of detergent predetermined according to a regulated quantity of washing water in the washing tub 2. The device also comprises a heater 11 for heating the liquid contained in the container 10 and an agitating vane 13 disposed in the container 10 to rotate according to the driving of a motor 12.
With this detergent dissolving device, the solution of the detergent can be more or less expected, by virtue of the electrically activated heater 11 and the agitating vane 13. However, the device requires long time for heating the washing water contained in the container 10. As a result, there is a problem of increased in washing time and electric power consumption. Furthermore, the overall construction becomes complex, due to the provisions such as the motor for driving the agitating vane and the heater. Since the detergent is dissolved in the washing water contained in the container having a limited capacity, it may be impossible to dissolve completely the detergent when the quantity of detergent to be poured is large. This causes various problems such as contaminations of environmental factors, in particular, the quality of water.